Fran Fleet reaches for a baseball glove amid the clutter Sandalay Glove Repair, where she has been repairing mitts for 20 years. Chronicle Photo by Chris Stewart

Fran Fleet reaches for a baseball glove amid the clutter Sandalay Glove Repair, where she has been repairing mitts for 20 years. Chronicle Photo by Chris Stewart

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Fran Fleet stitches a web for a Wilson A2000 baseball glove. Fleet has been repairing and restoring baseball mitts for twenty years in her tiny Cotati shop. Some of the mitts hanging from her walls date back to the teens. The Sandalady Glove Repair is at 8201A Old Redwood Highway. Chronicle Photo by Chris Stewart less

Fran Fleet stitches a web for a Wilson A2000 baseball glove. Fleet has been repairing and restoring baseball mitts for twenty years in her tiny Cotati shop. Some of the mitts hanging from her walls date back ... more

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WOMAN WITH THE GOLDEN GLOVES / Baseball mitts restored to their former glory in Cotati

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1999-03-26 04:00:00 PDT NORTH BAY -- Baseball has always had its meccas.

Some, like Seals Stadium in San Francisco, exist only in the memories of old-timers. Others, like the Giants' new home at Pac Bell Park, hold the promise of future glory.

For Sonoma County Crushers' pitching coach Dolf Hes, local college players and a stream of Little League and softball players, home away from home plate is Fran Fleet's shop in Cotati. At the Sandalady Glove Repair, Fleet has been restitching, padding, cleaning and reconditioning baseball mitts for 20 years in a space about half the size of a decent major league dugout.

As customers enter, they come face to face with Fleet, sitting serenely at her work station and looking like an earth mother laboring in a medieval tailor's booth.

Gloves of every vintage are stacked around her like a World Series celebration pileup. Fleet's 1914 industrial Singer patching machine takes up most of the counter. When this relic was new, Babe Ruth was a rookie pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and never had hit a major league home run.

But time doesn't matter here. Like baseball, this place has no clock.

"I started a candle business right here in 1968," says Fleet, who has lived most of her life in Sonoma County. "That evolved into a sandal shop that lasted about 10 years. Then in the late '70s, a customer came in with a baseball glove and asked me if I could fix it. I already had all the tools and lace. A year later I wasn't even doing sandals anymore. Gloves keep me busy full time."

Fleet knows the cure for what ails every customer's mitt.

"Most of the time I just give a glove a quick tune-up -- tighten the laces on the fingers and web and clean it up a bit," she says. "I try not to replace the padding unless it's absolutely necessary."

Fleet hasn't played softball herself since she was in high school, and the 1994-95 strike made her disillusioned with major league ball. But she does follow local college teams and the Western Baseball League's Crushers, whom she says carry on the spirit of the sport.

REEKS OF TRADITION

Like baseball's most revered parks, Fleet's shop shares a reverence for the game. The place evokes a tradition that reaches beyond the turn of the century.

All of the walls are hung with vintage mitts. Visitors can gape at them, like infielders waiting for a Mark McGwire pop up to fall. It's a feeling that baseball fans get -- a feeling that comes in the spring and never dies.

"Over the years customers have come in and given me gloves," Fleet says. "I've got a few from the turn of the century that are my favorites. The leather is wonderful."

A close inspection finds a nifty Stan Musial mitt from the '40s that is minuscule by today's standards. Hanging nearby is a Mickey Mantle glove from the '50s that would break the heart of any baseball-loving Baby Boomer.

If only this cowhide could chatter.

"That's one of the best things about working here," Fleet says. "Someone is always telling me a great baseball story. People love their mitts like they love their dogs."

TALKIN' BASEBALL

As if on cue, a man walks in with his daughter. Russ Haber and 12- year-old Hilary have their mitts. Amazingly, Haber still has his childhood Eddie Mathews model from the early '50s. It needs to be relaced and tuned-up, but it's still a wonder.

Hilary has a newer but well-used gamer. The mitt's worn-out finger tips are a badge of courage -- she's not afraid to dig one out of the dirt.

"I love it when someone comes in with a nice old glove like this," Fleet tells Haber as she begins to clean the pocket.

Before long the signature of the legendary Hall of Fame third baseman is visible again. Impressed, Haber tells Fleet to restore the glove completely. The price for such work? Tune-ups and complete overhauls run from $30 to $90.

The aura of the room inspires Haber to tell his story about the late Joe DiMaggio. Last summer the customer spent eight hours on a plane sitting next to the Yankee Clipper.

DiMaggio regaled him with baseball yarns all the way back from Miami. When the pair landed in San Francisco, Haber drove Joltin' Joe home.

The saga is long and rambling with the pace of a twilight doubleheader. Haber savors every detail, dragging it out like a bunt down the third baseline.

WHAT NOT TO DO

But not all the stories the Sandalady hears are so pleasant. Fleet often is appalled by the methods people use to break in their mitts.

"They tell me how they soak them in motor oil for a few days and then stick them in the oven," Fleet says. "You end up with bacon-crisp laces and padding saturated in oil. The glove is too heavy to play with. A lot of people also boil them in water. Both methods destroy the leather."

Fleet confines her business to reconditioning and repair and offers no gloves for sale. She does, however, help customers to break in new gloves -- service while you wait.

The process involves lathering a mitt with a lanolin-fortified conditioner called Glove Stuff that Fleet has developed with a chemist.

"Of course, I can't give you the flexibility of a 5-year-old gamer in 15 minutes, but I can get most of the stiffness out.

"I can also show you how to break in your glove properly. Never bend your mitt across the padding. A glove has a natural flex point built right into it."

Another bit of advice: Invest in a good glove and keep it for years.

"A decent mitt can last a lifetime," she says, "if you take care of it."

FRAN'S TIPS FOR AN EVERLASTING GLOVE

Baseball gloves are like cars: Choose a good one and care for it well, and one can get a lot of mileage out of it.

Fran Fleet of Sandalady Glove Repair says a great mitt doesn't have to be expensive. Although prices can exceed $200, some $35 to $60 models can provide 10 years of good play if maintained properly. Here are some of her tips:

CHOOSING A GLOVE

-- Select a glove for the position you play most: Outfielders need a larger glove; infield, small to medium; first base in baseball, first-baseman's or outfielder's glove; first base in softball, first baseman's; catcher in baseball, catcher's glove; catcher in softball, first baseman's or outfielder's glove.

-- Pick a mitt that feels snug.

-- Choose sturdy leather. It will need to be broken in, but it's better than soft leather, which may wear out quickly and is difficult to repair. Gloves with soft, thin leather also often have thin laces that will break.

-- Avoid gloves marked "specially treated leather" or "all leather palm." A thin layer of leather is bonded to fabric backing, and the result is a glove that won't last.

CARING FOR A GLOVE

-- Break in a new glove with cleaner-conditioner that contains lanolin. Put a softball in the pocket, fold the glove with the little finger under the thumb, and wrap with a rubber band.

-- When playing, wear a batting glove to absorb perspiration, and change it regularly to keep the mitt dry. If a mitt does get wet, dry it with a towel, then air-dry it until the lining is dry. Then rub it with a conditioner, such as Fleet's Glove Stuff.

-- When you store the glove, put a softball in the pocket and wrap it with a rubber band.

-- At least once a season, tune up your glove by tightening the laces, retying loose knots, and cleaning and conditioning the glove.

-- If laces break or the leather tears, have the glove repaired immediately before the condition deteriorates further.